Student protests at the Central University of Kerala have intensified following the suspension of five student activists and the registration of a police case against 25 unidentified students. The action followed demonstrations against the participation of an RSS-linked organisation’s representative in a national seminar organised to mark the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram.
The university suspended five students on October 8 after protests disrupted a session during the two-day seminar held on October 6 and 7. The suspension orders were issued by Chief Proctor Professor P. Sreekumar, who also serves as the university’s disciplinary authority.
The suspended students include Syed Ali S of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Aaved V. B, NSUI unit president Muhammed Yaseen, and Muslim Students Federation (MSF) activists Shabeer and Thakiyuddin. The students were ordered to leave their hostels and were barred from entering the campus during the suspension period, according to media reports.
The university’s suspension order said the students’ conduct had allegedly defamed the institution in front of invited guests, dignitaries, media personnel and staff. It described their actions as inappropriate for an academic forum and said the proceedings had been disrupted.
The controversy began with a national seminar organised by the Sahitya Akademi in collaboration with the university and the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad, an organisation linked to the RSS. Students objected to the participation of J. Nandakumar, national convenor of Prajna Pravah, an RSS-linked organisation, as a keynote speaker.
Student organisations said their opposition was directed at the presence of RSS-linked figures and what they viewed as the promotion of Hindutva politics on campus, rather than the national song itself.
On October 7, students disrupted a presentation by Chief Proctor Sreekumar, raising slogans against the RSS and demanding that the session stop. According to the police FIR, approximately 25 students assembled at the venue, raised slogans and continued disrupting the proceedings despite instructions to disperse. Police subsequently registered a case under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to unlawful assembly, rioting and disobedience of a lawful order.
The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) accused the university administration of targeting students along communal lines. The organisation said, “By choosing to suspend students based on communal segregation, the administration is no less than targeting and imposing the Hindutva politics and agenda upon students.”
The students have also questioned the decision to suspend five activists while the protests involved members of several student organisations. They have demanded the withdrawal of the suspension orders and called for the chief proctor’s resignation.
Muhammed Yaseen, an MSF leader at the university, explained the students’ position, “We are not against the nation or nationalism. But we are against saffronism.”
Following the suspension orders, students from several organisations boycotted classes and staged a sit-in outside the university’s administrative block. SFI activists also organised a protest march towards the campus, where Kerala Police used water cannons after demonstrators attempted to remove barricades.
The students have said they will continue their protest until the suspension orders are withdrawn. Meanwhile, the university’s disciplinary action and the police case have intensified the dispute over freedom of expression, campus politics and the right of students to question programmes organised at educational institutions.
The central issue remains contested, the administration has cited disruption and academic discipline, while student organisations argue that their protest was directed against the political affiliations of invited speakers.
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